The Lost Cafe
by emberlion
Summary: [Part 2 of 2 and epilogue--Completed!] Opening of a strange new Cafe. Sendoh meets OC who dosen't believe he exists. So both have some problems to talk about. Read on...
1. Default Chapter

_Disclaimer: SD characters are not mine! Only Amber is..._

_Thanks for taking time to read this piece. Reviews would be greatly appreciated._

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"Wai-wait! Koshino...!"

"Sorry Sendoh, I told you I've already got a date." Koshino barely looked at Akira Sendoh before rushing away. "Got to run, I'm already late!"

Akira sighed and looks around the court...only a few people were left now. As the last try, he called out to Hikoichi. "Hikoichi, want to grab some food with me?"

But Hikoichi was already scrambling for his notebook and pen. "Captain, did you hear that? Koshino has a date...? Does Koshino have a girlfriend? Date on Valentine's Day...must be with his girlfriend! What did you say, Captain? Food? No way, I got to check out Koshino and his date! Bye..."

And Hikoichi was up and running after Koshino.

Akira sighed. _Another birthday alone..._

Akira quickly had a shower before packing up and locking the doors to the courts. _Its tough being the captain, but even tougher having to train on Valentine's Day, which just happens to be my birthday_. The complaints from his players were still ringing in his ears, with most of them having dates for today. _It's all Coach's fault..._

A cool breeze greeted Akira as he walked towards the school gate. It was almost summer season, but the coolness of spring still lingered in the air...and also, the school was empty.

Akira gave a huge mushroom-shaped sigh. _The school is lonely like me!_

Seeing that no one was near, Akira lay down on the ground near the school gate. "I know how lonely you feel" Akira sniffed, patting the school ground.

"Lonely? Did I hear that you are lonely? Visit TLC, a place just for all the lonely hearts, no matter where you come from."

_What??_

For a moment, Akira thought the _school_ was talking to him. He lifted his face from the ground to see an old man standing in front of him.

"Yiks, where did you come from?" Akira started in shock and jumped to his feet.

The old man did not reply but just stood with his arms outstretched towards Akira.

Akira sweatdropped and took the small card the old man was holding out to him. It was light pink and says:

**The Lost Cafe**

**T L C**

Just around the corner when you need it.

_Wait...he wasn't any pathetic loser who has nowhere to go on Valentine's Day! _

Akira looked up—and the old man was gone.

Akira looked up and down the street outside Ryonan High School, but other than one couple, there was no old man walking along the street.

_He couldn't have walked so fast..._

Rrrrruuummbllleeeeee...

A more important issue came up and Akira shrugged of the weird old man. He put the pink card into his wallet into his wallet and set off looking for some food.

_Well, I might be celebrating alone, but no reason why I can't eat a good meal by myself. _

_(In the meantime, somewhere else...)_

"No Ying, you guys can't do this to me! I mean, Ling's not coming too...C'mon, we've been waiting for this day! ...WhaT?? You've got a date as well? So what am I? You can't abandon me like this...no wait, I refuse to accept your apologies...he—Hello?"

A flat dial tone greeted Ambers' ears. Her friend had hung up on her. Amber kept her mobile phone in her pocket, and walked dejectedly along one of the streets in the city center.

Oh my gosh, why do I have friends like these? 

Amber sighed and hung her head_. Alone on Valentine's Day again. _

It was lonely, and not to mention depressing, to walk alone on one of the most romantic days of the year. Couples everywhere, either going on a date, or some even rushing to get registered for marriage... _Marriage...? What are you thinking of Amber? Aiii..._

Amber shook her head to clear the morose thoughts. _I am young; I should be having fun today. Instead, I have been abandoned by my friends, and have to be out myself, with no cute hunk by my side. And thinking of marriage? That's what old women do!!_

Amber walked along with no destination in mind when she heard—

'_An empty street_

_A open house_

_A hole inside my heart—'_

The busker along the street was just starting his song when suddenly hurricane Amber struck.

"Hey are you an idiot? Playing such a sad song today...don't you give a thought to your listeners huh? Play something else now!"

Amber waved her hands and screamed at the poor busker. She did not notice other passers-by giving her weird looks, and some even laughed...quietly of course.

"Uh...sure miss." The busker sweatdropped and hastened to listen to Amber's commands.

'_When a ma-an loves a woman'_

Barely into his next song, Amber suddenly turned into a cat, complete with claws and teeth.

"Hey, what kind of entertainer are you huh? Your songs are horrible!" She attacked the poor busker. "Not everyone is in love, just because today is February 14!"

"Excuse me, are you too lonely that you are venting your anger on that poor man?"

_What?_

Amber turned and was prepared to scream again—but there was no one to scream at.

Amber was so surprised that she lost her anger for that moment. (Behind her, the busker hurriedly packed up his things to leave.)

Than, she felt something tugging on the hem of her shirt and she looked down. Staring up at Amber was a cute, cherubic face of a little girl.

"W-why do you say that?"

Instead of replying to Amber's question, the little girl held up a light pink business card to her.

"Here, this is for you, big sister. Bye!"

Before Amber could say anything, the girl ran away. The little girl was so fast that all Amber could see was the light pink lace of the girl's dress trailing behind before she lost sight of the small body.

Amber stared down at the pink card and read:

**The Lost Cafe**

**T L C **

Just around the corner when you need it.

"Great, even a small kid takes pity on me."

Amber continued her aimless stroll, still holding the card in the hands. The card turned warm and pulsed against her hand.

Startled, Amber dropped the card. "What happened?"

She looked down at the floor but the card looked the same. Cautiously, she bent down and touched the card with one finger. It was cool.

"Is this some kind of trick...?"

Amber picked up the card again.

'_Just around the corner when you need it.'_

_Well...I do feel like having a nice cup of tea. _Amber turned the card over but could not see any address. _Well, the whole thing is some kind of advertising gimmick I suppose._

Amber turned around a corner into the next street and—

"Wow, there it is!"

_The Lonely Café...what a weird name, but the décor of the café sure looks cozy! Hmm...and I'm getting hungry too. Wonder if they have any good food as well._

The soft tinkling of bells greeted Amber as she pushed open the door to the café. The smell of chocolate was strong in the air.

"Hi, welcome to TLC!"

Amber followed the waitress to a nearby table and sat facing the door while she waited for the menu. The tinkling of bells signaled the arrival of another customer.

Amber's jaw dropped open.

"A—Akira Sendoh?"

The impossibly tall boy stared and walked towards her.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Amber shook her head. "But...but –you are not real! Oh my gosh, am I dreaming?"

Akira stared down at the strange girl.

"Er...did you just say that I'm not real?"

"You are a comic character! I read about you in a comic—Slam Dunk?"

"What?? H—hey, stop pinching me!"

Amber still couldn't believe her eyes and was pinching Akira to make sure he was real.

"We have customers from many different places, so do not be surprised. If you two will sit down and stop making a scene please...its disturbing other customers."

Akira and Amber looked at the waitress and sat down at the same table.

"Sorry." They both mumbled, slightly embarrassed at their own behaviour.

They continued to look at each other however.

Amber couldn't believe Sendoh just walked out of SD comic.

Akira couldn't believe this strange girl's words about him not being real.

_Looks like I'm going to have an interesting time here._

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_A/N: I came up with this idea when I was too bored. Its kind of like a dream I suppose, to be able to meet someone you really like from a book, or comic, or anime. To be able to share your problems or thoughts with them as well is even better. So why not have a cafe that have 'customers from many different places'? So what will Sendoh and Amber talk about? Hmm, I guess I'm not expecting much reviews for this piece (my friends call it 'weird'), but hoped you enjoyed it anyway! _


	2. Part2

_Disclaimer: SD does not belong to me..._

_Thanks for aLL the reviews, its really means alot to me. I realised I made some mistake in Part1..the cafe's name is "The Lost Cafe"...I think i mistook 'lonely' for 'lost'. (Was writing in the middle of the night! ) The mistake has been rectified._

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_Part 2_

Akira slurped up the last of his ramen. "You felt it too?" he said to Amber. "I was walking into this ramen shop when I felt as if _my_ wallet was on fire! I stopped and took out my wallet, and there it was, glowing _pink_—"

"And than it stopped when you took the card out of your wallet; and next thing you know, you were in front of the café?" Amber interrupted excitedly.

Akira nodded fiercely, "Yeah! It was around the corner when I turned."

Amber finished up her tuna sandwich. The both of them had tried to make sense of their situation after the initial shock. They had come to a conclusion that the café was indeed, some kind of meeting place in between places. 'Places' as in 'worlds'. Although they could hear the murmurings of other customers, they could not see their faces clearly. They wondered who the others actually are. Also, Amber did not understand Japanese, yet she understood Akira perfectly, as did Akira with her English.

Amber had also given the details of the so-called comic that Akira was supposed to be from. Creepily, it held the details of the summer IH games during his second year! Also, Akira had no idea about some of the happenings in Amber's 'world'. For example, she was telling him excitedly about the current Athens Olympics, but he had only heard about this 'Olympics' briefly in a Greek mythology book he had read before, long ago.

"Wow..." Amber shook her head wonderingly at Akira. "I never actually thought I'd be _talking_ to you!"

Amber had told Akira that he was one of the more popular characters among girls. "Well, this certainly is a little weird, but it beats celebrating my birthday alone." Akira smiled at Amber, and turned to order another bowl of ramen. If anything, their food was good!

_Valentine's Day...February 14!_

"Oh right, it really is your birthday huh? I thought it was all made up," Amber said, sheepishly. She stuck out her hand over the table. "Happy birthday!"

Akira took her hand and shook it somewhat shyly. "Thanks."

"Hey Sendoh, aren't your friends waiting to celebrate for you? Shouldn't you be going?"

Akira did not meet Amber's eyes as he replied. "No. Well, I'm celebrating alone...anyway, what about you?" Akira forced a smile and tried to change the subject back to Amber. "There _is_ Valentine's Day back where I came from. Is your date waiting for you?"

Amber shook her head. "No—no, I was supposed to meet some friends, but they all had something else on, so it was cancelled at the last minute."

There was an awkward silence, but Akira's ramen was served at this point. Amber watched Akira slurped up his noodles and laughed. "But its okay right? I can celebrate your birthday with you, and you can be my date!"

"Great!"

Amber tried to liven things up by making conversation. "So Sendoh, if I'm not wrong, you are in your third year now right? And also the captain of the team!" She said brightly, "So how come the players didn't remember your birthday? Especially Hikoichi, I thought he worshipped you!"

Amber knew she had put her foot into her mouth, and almost kicked herself. Akira's expression was totally downcast.

"I'm sorry...I said something wrong again, didn't I?"

"No-no...it's alright."

"Its ok, you can tell me your problems. I won't tell anyone, I promise...no one will believe me anyway!"

Akira looked thoughtfully at Amber's earnest face. "Well...nothing's _wrong_ exactly. It's just that, well, being a captain wasn't as easy as I thought."

Amber nodded encouragingly and Akira continued.

"Before I was captain, I used to hang out with them...you know, Koshino...Fukuda. But I realize after I became captain, that we seem estranged somehow. It's as if they are so used to me giving them orders, they no longer treat me as their friend!"

"Doesn't that show that they respect you?"

Akira put down his chopsticks and spoon.

"I need their friendship more than respect."

Amber looked at Akira in shock. She had never seen this side of him before. True, he was serious during his basketball matches...but now, he seemed more...bitter.

"Perhaps they feel that more pressure with you as their captain. After all, you _are_ a Tensai in basketball."

"No I'm not!" Akira suddenly slapped his hand on the table in agitation, making Amber jump "I've been hearing countless people calling me that...but what _is_ a Tensai? Do they know me better than I know myself? What have I done to deserve that title? I make mistakes too; I'm like any regular person! 'Tensai' this word...it's like making me larger than life."

"It's like, what other people label you as, without bothering to find out who you really are first?"

Akira nodded, slightly surprised at himself. _Here I am, telling a stranger the problems that have been building up inside me...but I have no one else back there to confide in. Goodness knows how hard I tried, but no one understands._

"Yeah. You know, the guys think that I am so popular, there's sure to be many people who will be celebrating my birthday...while I was actually looking forward to hanging out with them after training today. Everybody thinks they know me, but none of them do."

"I understand Sendoh...I really do." Amber looked down at the table. "Sometimes, when you put on a happy face, everyone around you will think that you are really happy, or having fun...but what you really want or need, is for them to understand, and to share your problems."

Akira nodded. "Yeah...wha-what am I like? You know, in the comic."

Amber looked up, surprised. "Well, you were always smiling! And you were always nice to everybody, even to Sakuragi when he was rude. Of course, your skills in basketball are amazing! You could be serious too, during a game...like the one against Kainan. But I never saw you sad, or crying when you lost..."

"Always smiling, am I?"

"Yeah, you look really good when you smile!"

Akira gave Amber a small smile. "The night before that Kainan game...I lost my grandfather. He was the first person who taught me basketball- who put a basketball in my hands. He died, and the next day, I had to play in a match. I was feeling really bad, and didn't want to turn up for the match, but everyone was counting on me to win. I couldn't let them down...but we lost in the end anyway."

Amber reached across the table to place her hand on Akira's.

"Hey, I'm sure your grandfather would have understood, if he loved basketball as much as you do. Your parents too..."

"My grandfather was the only relative I have."

_What? I would never have guessed that cheerful character in Slam Dunk would have such a sad story to tell. Losing his only relative and having to live up to everyone's expectation while pretending to be happy..._

"I know, we should have a good cup of hot chocolate...it always makes me feel better!" Amber raised her hand to catch the attention of the waitress and place her order.

Akira noticed something on her arm when her long sleeve was pulled back while her hand was raised.

"What is that on your arm?"

Amber quickly pulled her sleeve back down. "Nothing."

Akira reached over and grabbed her arm. "It looks like a cut."

He pulled back her sleeve. "What happened to you? Did you fall?"

"No-no...I did it to myself." On her arm were some red, angry welts. She had tried to cut herself.

Akira looked up in horror. "Why?"

Amber smiled at Akira. "Don't worry, I'm not a psycho or anything. Did it on impulse I suppose. Back where I came from, you know, in my world, things aren't going that great for me as well."

Akira looked at the girl sitting opposite him. He realized she was about the same age as him. _Do all teenagers face problems? Why are our lives so difficult?_

"Sendoh...recently I've changed to a new school. I don't have many friends there, plus all the pressure the schoolwork's been giving me; I got pretty upset thinking about it recently...and this happened." Amber rubbed the scars on her arm ruefully. "I really missed my friends back in the old school, but they are busy with their own lives. They are the ones I was supposed to meet today."

"Amber..."

"That's how I understood, when you told me about your friends being distant...and not knowing how you feel. I was so happy back in my old school! But my parents insisted in moving and changing schools." Amber shook her head and laughed, "But don't worry, no more cutting myself. It hurts!"

There was silence when their hot chocolate was served. Amber took a long sip and sighed, feeling the warm, sweet drink make its way to her stomach.

"Makes you feel better, doesn't it?"

Akira nodded, savoring his own drink.

"I'm sorry."

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_A/N: Was trying abit of angst here, playing around with Akira's character...since I have a feeling he'll be having a story of his own soon. :)_


	3. Ending!

_Disclaimer: SD do not belong to me!_

_Thanks for reading until now...

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_

_Epilogue_

Amber walked out of the café. She heard the tinkling of the bells as the doors swung close, and turned.

She was alone.

_Luckily Sendoh and I made our farewells before we left this place._ Amber looked up, and the signboard of the café was bright against the sky.

Amber smiled to herself as she remembered Sendoh apologizing.

_Flashback _

/ "I'm sorry," Akira had said to her, one hand ruffling his spiky hair awkwardly.

"What for?"

Akira shrugged. "Not being able to help you."

Amber stared at him. "Than I should apologize to you as well, right?"

They looked at each other over the rims of their cups and laughed.

"I was being silly, wasn't I?" Akira said, "It's good enough that we both found someone who can understand our problems. But I guess the only ones who can solve them are ourselves." /

_End flashback_

Amber looked at the light pink business card in her hands. _Was I really lost back there?_

Amber breathed in the air of her own world. Nothing has changed, since she stepped into that café. Sendoh still didn't exist in her world, and her in his. But her problems were still real, as was his.

However, she felt really refreshed, as if she wasn't the only one suffering in the world.

_I guess I shouldn't feel this way. Everyone will have their own set of problems, don't they? But talking with someone really helps me out, even though it's with someone unexpected like Sendoh...or perhaps it's because of him, that someone so seemingly perfect without a care in the world faces growing up problems too._

A big smile appeared on Amber's face. _I wouldn't be 'living' if I didn't have any difficulties. That's why I'm human, not a robot._

She tucked the pink card into her pocket. _What a great place that café was!_

'_I can see clearly now that the rain is gone_

_I can see all obstacles in my way_'

A familiar voice drifted up the street.

Amber passed a familiar street busker. "Hey, nice song! Keep up the good work."

And the busker smiled... 

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_A/N: Completed! Well, this is sort of an 'one-shot' thing, but maybe if I feel any characters are in need of a good talk and some good food, there might be a re-visit to this strange cafe again! What do u think...?;p_

_In the meantime..support my other story...review...I know you want to do it! :)_


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